Vijay Mallya sidesteps queries on quitting as USL chairman

Mallya said he was in talks with banks to settle dues of the defunct Kingfisher Airlines though he did not spell out how.

By: ENS Economic Bureau

Bengaluru | November 25, 2015 02:10 AM IST

2 min read

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An agitated and angry Vijay Mallya on Tuesday evaded media queries on his stepping down as chairman of United Spirits (USL), as sought by the USL board. Mallya refused to make a specific statement on the subject, saying merely that he was not prepared to retire from the board.

“Why should I respond to media reports? It’s a figment of someone’s imagination and the whole media piles on to it and asks multiple questions. I have nothing to say on this,” Mallya said on the sidelines of the company’s 16th annual general meeting.

Mallya said he was in talks with banks to settle dues of the defunct Kingfisher Airlines though he did not spell out how exactly Rs 8,000 crore of loans would be repaid. The State Bank of India has already declared him a wilful defaulter. “I am focusing on settling Kingfisher’s affairs with the banks,” Mallya told reporters, refusing to specify whether he would further reduce his stake in USL to repay Kingfisher Airlines’ dues.

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In April this year, the USL board had asked Mallya to step down following an audit — a PwC forensic audit into the company’s books had found “impropriety and violations” regarding transactions of close to Rs 2,000 crore — and citing loss of confidence. Diageo had then said that it had received reports from USL that talked of alleged irregular financial transactions involving the company’s non-executive chairman Mallya, UB Group entities and various other corporate as well as individual entities.

However, Mallya refused to resign from the board. In its 2015 annual report, USL noted the company has contractual obligations to support Mallya’s interest in the company as a non-executive director and chairman of the company, subject to certain conditions. “In the event that Mallya declines to step down, the board resolved to request Diageo to expeditiously review the position in relation to its contractual obligations and authorized sharing with Diageo a copy of the inquiry report and all the materials relating to the company’s inquiry,” USL said. FE

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